MEL Dom. lounges refurb Completed October 2018

[Pushka]

I am under zero illusions here. The space they have to work with was always going to mean this will be crowded at peak times - even with the final extension and noodle bar area in November. BNE J has so much more room than the old BNE J it's not funny because they could totally extend out and create far more space. In MEL this is just not and never would be an option.

I will be passing through tomorrow morning so will see it on a weekend footing, but would also expect it to be quite busy. It's still an improvement on before, but it can never be as good as BNE is imho.

MrP there at Thurs night peak last week. Not excited. On the other hand he raved about the BNE J lounge at the same time the week before. Really impressed with that one and he’s not a ‘lounge appreciation’ kind of person.

 

[boomy]

MrP there at Thurs night peak last week. Not excited. On the other hand he raved about the BNE J lounge at the same time the week before. Really impressed with that one and he’s not a ‘lounge appreciation’ kind of person.

QF did fantastic job in BNE and set very high standards for domestic J lounges, which is a problem for MEL because they don’t have the extra space needed to create something similar.

 

[Pushka]

QF did fantastic job in BNE and set very high standards for domestic J lounges, which is a problem for MEL because they don’t have the extra space needed to create something similar.

I must try it out!

 

[lymt2006]

I was in the Melbourne Qantas Lounge for the first time on Friday afternoon from 2pm until 3:30pm. It was crazy. I thought there may have been a huge wad of over-reactors on here about how bad it is. I couldn’t find a seat for 30mins. Found one near the entrance and then got to witness every member complain to their partner or under their breath as they walked in. Whilst the place is clean, modern and food seems to have slightly improved I can’t help but think that even with the further space to come they will need to rearrange the seating layout to get more people in. Hope things are better in my former platinum world on the other side of the wall where the sun literally shines

 

[Pushka]

I was in the Melbourne Qantas Lounge for the first time on Friday afternoon from 2pm until 3:30pm. It was crazy. I thought there may have been a huge wad of over-reactors on here about how bad it is. I couldn’t find a seat for 30mins. Found one near the entrance and then got to witness every member complain to their partner or under their breath as they walked in. Whilst the place is clean, modern and food seems to have slightly improved I can’t help but think that even with the further space to come they will need to rearrange the seating layout to get more people in. Hope things are better in my former platinum world on the other side of the wall where the sun literally shines

Not so much yet apparently. Doesn’t seem like anyone is particularly impressed. Space is a big issue.

 

[Cossie]

I was there last Friday afternoon from 3:30 till 4:00, it was packed, calls were made asking people to remove their personal items from chairs as seats were at a premium. I was meant to fly out at 5:15, but fortunately was able to get on the 4:20 flight to Canberra.

 

[RichardMEL]

Well I had a VERY QUICK (no thanks to transport issues) visit Sat morning to the new lounge. It was about half full I would say so fairly pleasant from that point of view. It looks clean and nice... the loos seem refreshed and it's quite good.. absolutely needs the extension open obviously.

Had to re-learn whee everything is though which was fun specially when in a hurry! Had to ask a staffer where the newspapers are (they're "hiding" right at the entrance area which wasn't obvious when I walked in lol).

The one thing I kind of did not quite grasp is the big circular orange seating feature. Seems to me like something for a kids play area or something. I couldn't imagine bunch of customers sitting around that thing who didn't know each other bu then again during peak times time to buddy up lol

And re announcements to move stuff from chairs.. that's sad that people need to be reminded to not be so selfish. Really bugs me.

 

[ole nimeton]

In the new domestic business lounge for the first time. Its full without being ridiculous. I like the darker colour scheme.

Biggest issues i'm noticing are not enough powerpoint/benches for people to sit with laptops and work and the benches that do exist are very narrow. In the old lounge you used to be able to sit at the high dining benches and plug in but the new dining benches don't have powerpoints. There's also people sitting at the bar with their laptops working due to lack of space. Not sure if the delineation between casual drinks at the bar and people working on laptops is the best.

Second thing they need to address is the lack of self serve coffee and soft drinks. The quench hydration stations are untouched while there are long lines at the bar and not enough staff to serve a simple coke.

 

[RichardMEL]

That reminds me I had about 20min there the other morning around 11am. It was about 75% full.

Several things noticed. There were still breakfast items (ie: sad looking snags and eggs).. seems to me that stuff used to be gone by 9 or 9:30 at the latest.. Def there leading up to 11. Not sure how fresh as I did not partake, but looked like a reasonable amount which suggests had been restocked.

Coffee queue was about 5 deep so took a bit of time. They seem to have 2 coffee machines there.. are they manned in uber peak times?

Agree the Quench stuff seems untouched. Perhaps moreso in the warmer months? Agree having easy access to juices and soft drinks as in the past would be better and far less pressure on the bar staff.

The loos have been refreshed a bit and it's not bad. I'm not sure if there are now more shower rooms or not? I forget how many were in the original lounge. Were etting used anyway.

I almost drank my coffee at the bar as there were no obvious areas to just sit for a few minutes with a drink bar a few of the tables being used for eating and stuff.

I find the mix of different furniture somewhat odd... I suppose more uniform is boring and some chairs have different comfort levels though it does seem a little funny to me, but I did not have time to lounge around to decide for myself where the "sweet spot" might be (for me).

It was pleasant but not overwhealming.

Again I feel the extra space being opened up in a few months will really add to the lounge experience.

 

[VPS]

I took a few photos of the new J lounge last week if anyone is interested

 

[serfty]

For about the last year or so, when I have been there at those time the hot breakfast items have generally been out after 10:30am.

This does contrast the early days of the hot food when it was generally put away after 8:45am ..

 

[serfty]

I took a few photos of the new J lounge last week if anyone is interested

Sure - post some here ...

 

[Austman]

I'll jump in. Here are some from August, just after it opened:


The entrance.


The main area.


The bar.


A shower room.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I don’t understand this move to communal seating everywhere. Airlines rave endlessly about the privacy of their seats and suites on board, but then expect everyone to sit with strangers at some long table or communal bench.

Is this actually what people want?

 

[boomy]

I don’t understand this move to communal seating everywhere. Airlines rave endlessly about the privacy of their seats and suites on board, but then expect everyone to sit with strangers at some long table or communal bench.

Is this actually what people want?

Off course this is not what people want, especially business travelers who are looking for privacy to work or relax after a busy day. It’s a cheap way for airlines to cramp more seats in small space.

Hopefully when reno complete there will be more private seating.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Off course this is not what people want, especially business travelers who are looking for privacy to work or relax after a busy day. It’s a cheap way for airlines to cramp more seats in small space.

Hopefully when reno complete there will be more private seating.

I dunno. Lots of restaurants are going to this 'communal dining' concept where we are all supposed to sit on tables of 10 or 12 (or even 20) with a bunch of strangers and apparently enjoy it. The QF HKG and SIN lounges sell this as an amazing concept to meet passenger demand (for communal dining, not table space full stop).

 

[kookaburra75]

I dunno. Lots of restaurants are going to this 'communal dining' concept where we are all supposed to sit on tables of 10 or 12 (or even 20) with a bunch of strangers and apparently enjoy it. The QF HKG and SIN lounges sell this as an amazing concept to meet passenger demand (for communal dining, not table space full stop).

I don't mind the bench type tables, as I often have a chat to others, but the new round bench/chair thingies I do find weird. Plus you wouldn't get as many people. It reminds me of some of the new open office trends

 

[boomy]

I dunno. Lots of restaurants are going to this 'communal dining' concept where we are all supposed to sit on tables of 10 or 12 (or even 20) with a bunch of strangers and apparently enjoy it. The QF HKG and SIN lounges sell this as an amazing concept to meet passenger demand (for communal dining, not table space full stop).

Promotions and marketing spins aside, I don’t think many will chose to sit in communal tables searching to talk to strangers if there are individual seats available. In all my visits to the HKG lounge that big round table (in front of P1 reserve seating) was always empty, unless a large family or friends occasionally sat there together.

 

[RooFlyer]

I don’t understand this move to communal seating everywhere. Airlines rave endlessly about the privacy of their seats and suites on board, but then expect everyone to sit with strangers at some long table or communal bench.

Is this actually what people want?

The Management of the impossibly crowded Hobart airport recently released some ' concept' drawings of the 'refresh' of the departures area, in response to the crowding. Lots of benches - metal, it looked like.

Locals went berko; quick retreat by HBA.

 

[kermatu]

It reminds me of some of the new open office trends

I was thinking exactly the same. Often failed experiments of open plan, hot desking, collaboration spaces. Never worked in my experience. Productivity declines and less collaboration - yet some places are wasting money on it as we speak.

All about crunching more people into a smaller space. Which as boomy says is the goal for a lounge.